The University of Delaware Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program truly appreciates those faculty members who step forward to become McNair Faculty Mentors. Faculty Mentors provide our burgeoning student scholars with regular, one-on-one mentoring through dialogue and interaction, direction on the undergraduate research project, encouragement for Ph.D. studies, and suggestions for programs of graduate study.

McNair Faculty Mentors are responsible for:

• Providing references for introductory background reading materials relevant to the assigned or specified project;
• Providing insight about, commentary on, criticism of, as well as approval of the student’s research outline (research proposal), research paper, research abstract, and end-of-the-summer research presentation (oral and/or poster);
• Approving student research schedules;
• Meeting with student (mentee) weekly throughout the summer program (bimonthly throughout academic year semesters); meetings may be used for review of research, discussion of research project, direction of study, etc.;
• Serving as positive role models in research, scholarship, and academia as a whole;
• Encouraging mentees to complete baccalaureate studies, as well as to apply to and matriculate into a doctoral program;
• Alerting the McNair Program Office of any difficulties, questions, or concerns—of an academic and/or personal nature—that the student may be encountering;
• Helping mentees understand the rigors of graduate education;
• Utilizing a brief program questionnaire, evaluating the student at the end of the summer program;
• Identifying/recommending graduate school programs;
• If possible, attending the McNair Summer Research Conference (where McNair student scholars present their research) and Awards Banquet; and
• Holding the McNair scholar to standards of scholarly excellence.

Faculty Benefits

• Access to McNair students nationwide, providing a potential graduate school pool;
• Opportunity to guide potential scholars through the research process;
• Service to the University of Delaware; and
• Impacting the future course of the academy and society by increasing the number of first generation/low income and underrepresented students who complete post-baccalaureate degrees.